Beech Lake Shoreline Restoration
Nestled in the heart of Loudon County, VA, lies the upscale neighborhood of Ashburn Village. Within this community of roughly 5,000 homes are eight lakes, which control and maintain stormwater, mitigate wetlands, and provide recreational fishing and boating. Many residents like to jog or take leisurely strolls on the many paths that encircle the lakes. The lakes also provide sanctuary to many species of animal and plant life. One in particular, Beech Lake, was experiencing severe shoreline degradation, bad enough in some areas to encroach on the jogging paths as well as homeowners’ properties. Previous attempts to limit the erosion had been unsuccessful, and a new strategy was needed.
When Tedd Conner, owner of Chesapeake Watershed Solutions (CWS), was contacted by the architectural firm of Dewberry Inc. to provide a proposal to stabilize the shores at Beech Lake, he met the prospect with both excitement and reservation. “I must admit, after my initial assessment of the site, I was somewhat skeptical of the ability to install measures such as hard armoring in very tight quarters, but I knew that with careful planning we could achieve the goals of Jeff Lange, the landscape architect in charge of the project. The biggest concerns for CWS were access to the lake itself, and the close proximity of the eroded shoreline to homeowners’ property lines. In some areas, there was only six or seven feet between homeowners’ fences and the edge of the lake. Since we were going to be placing boulders that ranged in size from 150 to 800 pounds, this was going to be quite a challenge.”
The boulders were not the only materials that needed to be transported. “We also had to haul in backfill material once the hard armoring was in place. We ended up hauling the boulders and backfill in a small one-ton dump truck, so it involved countless trips,” says Conner. More than 70 tons of boulders and 50 cubic yards of fill were used on the project, along with over 500 water-tolerant trees, shrubs, and perennials.
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| Boulders, fill material, and more than 500 plants were added to the site. |
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| Biologs protect less degraded areas of shoreline. |
Lange, senior landscape architect/arborist for Dewberry, also incorporated several hundred feet of biologs for some of the less degraded areas of the shoreline. Several “fishing stations” consisting of large pieces of fieldstone were strategically placed to encourage fishermen to fish in designated areas and avoid trampling wetland grasses and other plants. “My goal as a designer was to provide a look that was natural, functional, and aesthetic,” says Lange. “I think CWS did a great job in turning my vision for the lake into a reality.”
“It was important for me to get inside Jeff’s’ head and make sure that we were on the same page,” notes Conner. “Communication throughout the three-week project was essential. Fortunately for us, Jeff’s office is minutes away from the lake, so he could come over quickly to discuss any questions and keep us on schedule. And it certainly was a bonus that Jeff cares deeply about the environment and taught me quite a few things. He is definitely a hands-on designer, not someone who likes to sit in an office.”
Jim Tracy, the general manager for the Ashburn Village Community Association, was equally pleased with the completed project. “Our objective was to stabilize the shores of Beech Lake from further erosion and damage. A secondary objective was to do that in an aesthetically pleasing way, better than banks or riprap.”
Response from the community at large was also very favorable. “First of all, our board of directors all walked the perimeter of the lake, and they were very pleased with both the mechanical and visual improvement,” says Tracy. “Second and more importantly, we have had a series of calls from nearby homeowners complimenting us on the final appearance as well as the behavior of the workers on site.”
“That’s the bottom line,” responds Conner. “We strive to minimize our footprint to the environment as well as please the homeowners surrounding the project.” And the project had an immediate impact on the wildlife living in the lake. “Two hours after we had installed the biologs, we had turtles sunning themselves on the logs. Within days, there were several ducks nesting in areas that previously had been underwater. This underscored our main goal, which was to leave the site cleaner, more stable, and visually better than when we started.”
The next project slated for Ashburn Village is the Pavilion Lake forebay retrofit, which will help improve water quality in the Beaver Dam Run watershed.
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